Baby E attended his first wedding this weekend which was his first big event. Of course this called for him to don a kilt, which he was very cute and handsome in. He wore the same kilt as Mr W in the tartan that we had at our wedding which made it even more special. The effect of an adorable baby in a kilt on people is quite spectacular and he was in serious danger of stealing the show from the beautiful bride. It also makes changing nappies considerably easier!
We were a little apprehensive about the day…it would be a long one with lots going on and lots of new faces in a busy and bustling atmosphere. Baby E would also ideally need to be polite and quiet at certain parts of the day, heaven forbid he have a total meltdown in the middle of the ceremony or speeches! With a little military precision planning, along with the help of a little boy that smiled and giggled his way through the event we have a very enjoyable, if exhausting day.
Here are a few things we did to try and make a potentially stressful day run a bit more smoothly:
- List, list, list. This was the perfect opportunity for me to indulge in my love of lists. I made a made a list of what we needed for the day well in advance, from toys to feeding to the essentials.
- Take plenty of the essentials i.e. nappies and wipes. The wedding venue was an hour away from home and a fair distance from the nearest town where we could get any of these in an emergency.
- Take a back-up outfit for baby…hopefully you won’t need one for yourself!
- Have wet wipes in an easy to access place.
- Take a good variety of food. We took a couple of pouches that we knew Baby E enjoyed, a yogurt, rusks and little sandwich fingers so that we had few options. The finger food was a great distraction during speeches. We also took spare formula as well as what we knew we would need just in case.
- Take a variety of small toys – make sure some are not noisy, I am sure the bride does not want to hear a little singing Mexican maraca while she says her vows!
- We made sure Baby E had a good morning nap before going. He skipped his afternoon nap as there was too much going on for him, although I did make sure we went somewhere quieter for a little down time.
- Take a sleep suit for the evening. This made it so much easier to put Baby E in his car seat where he fell asleep and we could just transfer him into his cot when he got home.
- We went with the goal that if Baby E became unsettled, grumpy…descend into raging melt down, the bride and groom would never know about it. Cue checking all rooms for the swiftest exit route!
And finally…
- Start to leave about 45 minutes before you actually intend to. It is virtually impossible to leave an event with a cute baby quickly!
What are your top tips for taking a baby to a big event?
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